by Casey Bond
The King sat forward, resting his elbows on the top of his tidy desk, another reminder that he’d been unable to perform many of his duties over the past few days. “You’re probably wondering what the emergency is, and I’ll quell your worries soon enough, but what is discussed within this room will not be discussed with anyone outside it, under penalty of treason. Is that understood? Not even with your escorts.” The King’s burnt toffee eyes were hard as they met each invitee’s, but they softened when he found mine.
The ladies assured their full cooperation and understanding with nods and affirmations. Rose stood up straighter, giving the King her undivided attention. Leah stood tall beside her while Estelle and Tessa clutched hands, standing together to the right of them. The party from Thirteen settled against the wall. Even though I was lined up with the other women, I was separate.
The King explained how I came to be part of the invitation. Rose flicked a disgusted look my way, then turned it on Mira and Brecan. She quickly pressed her lips into an expectant smile and flashed it at the King. Annalina, who stood behind her husband, speared Rose with a look so severe, she should’ve cowered.
I wanted to claw the smug look off Rose’s face, but refrained. Barely.
He told them of the threat against his son.
Then he told them of Cyril, never mentioning that she was my mother, and informed them that she had caused a disturbance in our sector that might spread across the Kingdom if not extinguished.
Tauren, standing at his father’s right hand, spoke next. “If you want to return to your sectors, families, and lives, I completely understand. I would never keep you here against your will.”
Tessa straightened, glancing at Estelle.
“If you want to stay, we will film scenes to make the Kingdom believe all is well – including the traditional journey to the coast.”
“To distract them?” Leah asked. “Why would you do that? The Kingdom’s citizens can fight.”
“They can’t fight Cyril and win,” I interrupted.
Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “And I suppose you can defeat her?” she scoffed.
I remained silent.
“Arguing will get us nowhere,” Annalina told everyone. “You’ve been informed of the situation. Now, you must choose to stay or go.”
“What does this mean for you, Tauren? Will you choose one of us now?” Rose asked, her eagerness hidden beneath a curious expression.
Tauren opened his mouth to speak, but the King beat him to it. “Tauren has more important matters to think about than this silly contest. Personally, I think it’s time that we think of a more appropriate way for a prince to find the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. This invitation system is the way it’s been done for five hundred years, and while I was able to find my true love through it, who’s to say Tauren can? I say, if the answer isn’t crystal clear by now, then he’s not ready to make the decision. I also say he can wear a crown and rule, if need be, without a wife by his side.”
Rose’s mouth gaped.
“I want to go home,” Tessa said in a quiet voice, looking at Tauren. “I really like you, but I don’t love you and I don’t want to be Queen. I love my family and I love working stone. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I came here.”
He inclined his head. “Completely understandable, and I respect your decision. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. I hope we can remain friends.”
Tessa curtsied, pulling her day dress’s skirt wide. “As do I.”
Tauren looked to Estelle. She tucked her colorfully streaked blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’d like to stay. If I can help, I will.”
Leah smiled. “I’ll stay to help, but at the first sign of trouble, I’m out. I have family, too.”
“Not to mention that you’re actually into Knox,” Rose muttered snidely under her breath.
Leah nodded. “I am into Knox,” she confidently confirmed, “and Tauren knows that. As do his parents. And all of them approve, Rose.”
Rose’s mouth gaped open again, then snapped shut. I enjoyed watching Leah put her in her place more than I should have.
“Rose?” Tauren asked. “Have you decided?”
“I’ll stay, of course,” she confirmed with a nod.
Decisions made, we learned Tessa would leave us that afternoon, pretending that Tauren had dismissed her and giving the viewing public the impression that this competition was still light-hearted, and that we were oblivious to what was transpiring in Thirteen. Rose would throw a tea party, as it was already scheduled, and then we would travel to the coast. Tradition decreed that if the sea blessed our prince, it would offer up a nautilus shell, which would pave his path to the crown with luck and prosperity.
“That’s awfully close to Thirteen,” Brecan noted. “I’m not sure that’s safe.”
“Don’t film it live. You can film it and then air it later, once everyone is back here and safe, right?” Estelle suggested.
“You have a few hours to rest,” the King announced, ignoring the suggestion but staring at me intently. “I suggest you take advantage of it.”
Brecan used his magic to pop the bubble enclosing us and led our party outside, down the long corridor to the main staircase. Mira made me promise to wake her if anything happened. With the exertions of the morning, she needed a few hours of sleep. So did Brecan and I. We trudged to our hallway and Mira closed the door behind her, giving a weak wave.
I pulled out my key and unlocked my room, catching the barest trace of sage and black salt swirling in the air. After quickly scanning the room, I couldn’t see anything out of place.
“What’s the matter?” Brecan said, his chest suddenly against my back.
“Someone was in here – a witch.”
“There.” He pointed to a small table just inside the door. “Someone delivered a letter.”
The letter was sealed in midnight blue wax, a symbol of a moon and stars stamped into its glossy surface. I hesitated to even touch it.
Breaking the seal, pieces of wax sprinkled my boots and bounced onto the floor.
Dearest Sable,
With great discretion, there are urgent matters I’d like to discuss with you – and you alone. Meet me in my favorite garden when you can. I’ll be watching.
Best Regards,
Arron, Son of Night
Brecan fumed. “You are not going alone.”
I wished he hadn’t been watching out for me just this once, because I knew I needed to meet Arron alone. He wouldn’t speak to me otherwise. I remembered his silver, slitted eyes – reptilian, yet eerily beautiful. They somehow fit him, just as he belonged to the dark smoke that was a harbinger of his arrival.
Tossing the letter onto the table, I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Let’s rest. Then we’ll discuss.”
“We will discuss it,” he warned.
I walked to the bed and flung myself on it, barely registering his ‘sleep well,’ or the moment he locked the door and closed it behind him.
I try to blink, but something thick blankets me. Something heavy. It presses all around me. I can’t shift or move even a fraction of an inch.
The weight keeps me still, silent. My heart thunders.
There is dirt in my mouth. In my nostrils. In my ears. But I can’t move my hands to dig it out. Not even a finger will flinch. I can move my tongue, but not my lips. The pressure holds them shut.
I remember that the Circle, led by Grandmother Ela, captured and encapsulated me with magic. The four of them together are too powerful to fight against.
“Daughter of Fate, you are bound to the soil, and there will remain until I no longer draw breath,” she said.
No, they did this to my mother. Not me.
Not me!
Soil in my mouth.
It crushes me.
&nbs
p; They buried me…
I can’t breathe.
The sound of splintering wood woke me. Brecan fell into my room just as I sat up, desperate for air. I clutched my chest and crawled to the edge of my bed. Strands of saliva fell from my mouth as I retched. Brecan grabbed a nearby garbage can and positioned it under me, scooping my hair away from my face and holding it back.
“Talk to me, Sable.”
But I couldn’t. The taste of earth still coated my tongue.
I coughed, and clumps of dark soil erupted from my mouth.
“What’s happening?” he breathed.
I gagged and coughed until nothing else came out. “I’m okay,” I finally croaked.
He ran to the bathroom to retrieve a damp cloth as Mira cautiously entered the room. “What happened to your door?” she asked as Brecan returned.
“I broke it down to get inside,” he answered. He handed me the towel, but my hands were shaking so violently, I couldn’t get them to work.
Brecan took the towel from me and cleaned my face. “Why were you vomiting dirt?” he asked gently as he wiped beneath my eyes.
“I dreamed I was her. Cyril.”
Mira clapped her hands over her mouth. “Buried alive?”
I nodded.
Brecan looked at the pile of earth in the trash can and back at me. “How?”
“I don’t know.” I took a moment to draw in as much air as I could, settling myself.
“Your mother did this,” Brecan growled. “She or that devil, the Son of Night.”
“What time is it?”
“An hour before the tea party,” Mira answered shakily. “You need to get ready, Sable. I’m so sorry you don’t have more time to compose yourself.” Mira shifted her weight on her feet, worrying her hands.
“I need a shower. I need to rinse the dirt out of my mouth, and…” I raised a strand of damp hair. “It’s even in my hair.”
Mira gave us a worried look before helping me off the bed and into the washroom.
23
The tea party took place in a small sitting room with walls the color of blushing primroses. A round table sat in the center of the room, topped with a white cloth and surrounded by elegant, matching chairs with long, silk ribbons tied around the backs. Tauren was seated at the far side, and a guard stood in each corner of the room. The soldiers were so still, they nearly faded into the décor. If they’d been wearing pink, they would have.
Rose sat to the left of the Prince in a rather revealing, dusty pink day dress. Leah sat to his right, and Knox sat beside her. Estelle sat next to Knox, and the only empty seat put me between Estelle and Rose – almost as far away from Tauren as possible, I noted.
Well played, Rose.
Tauren had already bidden farewell to Tessa in front of the cameras. She boarded a carriage outside the palace, waved goodbye, and didn’t look back. Mira watched the telecast while I showered, reporting every detail as she braided my dark hair and applied my makeup. I think she was trying to get my mind off the terrible nightmare I had.
Rose cringed at the sight of my raven-colored dress as I walked closer. Two cameramen were preoccupied, checking the angles of their cameras to make sure the entire table was captured, when she stood and rounded the table, stopping to whisper, “Would it kill you to wear something other than black?”
“Yes,” I replied sweetly.
“I sent instructions to your escort for you to wear something… brighter.”
“Well, my escorts and I don’t answer to you, and I prefer to wear this color. So, I politely decline.”
If Rose were a tea kettle, she’d whistle. The fake mask she’d worn since waltzing into the palace, expecting to win a crown and a prince, had begun to crack.
“Fine,” she recovered, smoothing her hands down her dress just as three kettles of hot water were brought in. Rose moved to place them on the table as the crew raised their hands to indicate the live feed would begin in five, four, three… they counted down with their fingers.
Rose flashed her famous megawatt smile, a dimple popping in her cheek. She toyed with her beautiful red hair and stared into the nearest camera. “Thank you all for coming. Afternoon tea is an important tradition in my family. It allows us to step away from all the important work we do and take a breath, recharge, and reconnect with one another.”
She lay tea bags into our empty floral cups, smiling as she made her way around the table, serving Tauren last, only so she could fill his cup with steaming water first. He thanked her and waited as the tea steeped. I could still smell the love potion on her skin, but Tauren wasn’t affected. That was the down side to using them. The target often became immune if actual feelings weren’t present.
A sense of relief loosened my ribs, although the fact that he didn’t love Rose tormented me. I was beyond happy that he didn’t. But would he marry her anyway and enter a loveless marriage for the sake of Nautilus?
Estelle wrinkled her nose at the smell. She obviously wasn’t a tea fan.
I loved the taste, but better than that were the leaves that foretold.
Ripples spread across the surface of Leah’s tea. She took a sip. Knox whispered something in her ear, then clinked her cup with his. The two might as well have been in their own world, and now the entire Kingdom knew they were interested in one another.
Tauren grinned at them both, then motioned for a cameraman to come closer. “In case you haven’t noticed, my brother and Leah have hit it off. Leah declined my invitation, but I have hopes she might receive another.”
Knox never took his eyes off Leah. “Actually, that’s rather perfect timing, brother.” He stood up and pushed his chair out, kneeling in front of Leah. She clutched her chest, awestruck by Knox as he pulled an enormous gold and emerald ring from his pocket. “Green is your favorite color, and it reminds me of every fleck of the shade in your eyes. We haven’t known each other long, but the thought of you leaving tears my heart to shreds. Will you stay? And will you consider being my wife?”
My brows raised at the tender question. I knew they enjoyed one another’s company, but marriage? Marriage, to everyone but witches, was for life. Marriages were rarely dissolved, and only under the direst of circumstances. The King himself had to counsel anyone seeking divorce.
Leah silently cried, even as she smiled. She nodded her head and threw her arms around Knox’s neck. “Yes!”
Estelle started clapping beside me, and soon, applause filled the room as everyone rose from their seats. The cameras whirred, panning in and out on Leah, Knox, and the ring. I imagined Mira squealing at the sight as she watched the events unfold upstairs.
Tauren’s eyes met mine, glittering happily as his hearty claps and wide smile filled the room. Once Knox rose and kissed his future bride, his brother was there to greet him with a hug.
Rose watched them both with a plastered-on, saccharine smile. She made sure to catch the eye of a cameraman as she pretended to swoon over the engagement, but when they focused on the rest of the party, Rose continued to stare at the brothers with a calculating eye. I wondered if she saw them as men, or simply as a means to a queenly end.
After everyone settled back at the table and the congratulations had ended, Rose suggested everyone drink their tea before it got too cold. She was not happy she wasn’t the center of attention, like she’d undoubtedly planned.
“So, can witches read tea leaves, or what?” Estelle asked after sipping hers again.
“I can,” I answered.
“How? I want a reading!” she pressed.
“Now is really not the time,” Rose snipped, sharp as a thorn.
Knox nodded his head. “That would actually be really interesting to watch.”
Instead of responding, Rose passed everyone what she called biscuits, though they were actually cookies. Hard cookies. They nearly broke my teeth
when I tried to bite one.
I put the cookie down and hoped everyone would let the tea leaf thing go.
They didn’t.
Instead, they tore open their tea bags and emptied their leaves into the water. “Will you at least read for one of us?” Tauren pleaded. His voice was hopeful and worried at the same time.
I inclined my head. “Very well. Estelle, since you asked first, would you like the reading?”
She grinned. “Absolutely. What do I do?”
I told her to drink as much of the tea as possible, letting the leaves settle where they wished. Estelle sipped hers until the remaining water barely covered the leaves, then placed it on her saucer as I instructed. She scooted it toward me, careful not to disturb the cup. I waved my hand over it, erasing all the pastel pink roses. A web of black threaded around the inside, forming the familiar pattern required to read her fate. “Turn the cup over,” I told her.
She quickly flipped it, and the little bit of remaining tea emptied into the saucer. The pattern of leaves left a story. It always did.
I inhaled, closed my eyes, and recalled the pattern from memory, watching as Fate gave me visions of Estelle’s future. “You… you will attend a wedding very soon. I see you in the audience, watching the couple…”
Hearing Knox and Leah laugh, I kept reading. “Everything is about to change.”
She made a wooo sound, wiggling her fingers to tease me.
“Smoke,” I breathed. And then tasted it on my tongue, smelled it in the air. “So much smoke.”
“What’s on fire?” she asked.
“Everything,” I answered.
“Okay,” Rose chirped with a clap. “That’s enough darkness and despair from The Gallows, don’t you think?” She tucked her scarlet hair behind her ears as everyone around the table gawked at her.
“Witches have senses of humor,” I said to lighten the mood. “We aren’t all darkness and despair.”
“I’ve yet to see it,” she smarted. “The only thing you know how to do is wear black and be creepy.”